I've been think and thinking about this. More and more Americans want a good standard of living, so they avoid work like this like the plague. However, if businesses were to stop using illegals, then a heck of a lot of jobs would go unfilled quickly. If there are 10 million illegals here and lets say the range of 1 to 2 in 3 is working as an assumption, then about 2% to 4% of the U.S. workforce is working illegally. Just as a rough guess. When 5% unemployment is considered full employment, then there really is a need for more workers than the U.S. has in supply. If the illegals were all shipped out tomorrow, that would mean 2-4% of the jobs out there would be available. These are all, right now, low wage jobs. By supply and demand, wages would have to rise for these positions to be filled. That would put an upward pressure on costs and the price for these items would increase. The net result would be that, on an economically comparable scale, nothing would change. The higher wages paid for Americans to work the jobs illegals are doing now would still result in the same relative standard of living. Americans would have to get used to working and living in conditions that illegals experience today. Provided social services aren't pegged to inflation pressures resulting from dumping the illegals, then living on the government dole would be worse than living in the low standards illegals live in today. In other words, it might be enough to get Americans to do the cr@p jobs they won't do today because welfare would be worse. All based on supply and demand.

23 posted on 06/01/2005 12:05:23 PM PDT by doc30
(Democrats are to morals what and Etch-A-Sketch is to Art.)

I've got news for you, more and more americans are avoiding jobs like engineering for the same reason. know anyone who wants to be a tradesman - carpenter, painter, roofer. why not? its not just unskilled labor anymore.